All We'd Ever Need
by the queen of slurking
Summary: Companion piece to Things People Say. I recommend reading that first. Based off Lady Antebellum's All We'd Ever Need.


**All We'd Ever Need**

**This was **_**supposed**_** to be the sequel to Things People Say. It's based on All We'd Ever Need, by Lady Antebellum, but I decided it works better as a companion piece. Sequel to come soon.**

**I don't own the song: that is owned by Lady A. I don't own PLL: that is owned by Sara Shepard. I **_**do **_**own Aria's fiancé, as he's of my imagination.**

**Setting: I suppose, just when Aria arrives in England and the next few months. I might make this a two-shot, if people want.**

Aria sat in her cramped airplane seat, the flight somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. Her emotions hovered somewhere between sorrow and disbelief at what she'd just done.

She'd just left America, leaving Ezra behind.

It had hurt, of course, but she didn't want to stay trapped in one place. And she hadn't wanted to ask him to join her in England; she knew he wouldn't go for it. He was nearly thirty now, of an age to be wanting to settle down and think about getting married.

Several hours, two attempts at sleeping, half a movie and five chapters of a book later, the pilot announced that they would shortly be landing in London.

The full realization of everything suddenly began to sink in, and the tears stung her eyes while her throat burned. Aria recognized this feeling: she had felt this just before she'd arrived at college, and before that, the nerves she'd had before senior year of high school.

Back then though, she'd been worried about the possibility of another A. Luckily, none had ever surfaced and life had managed to return to normal. She took a moment to appreciate the fact that now, her biggest worry was starting out in a new, entirely unfamiliar place.

Her hands shook as she checked over her carry-on luggage and made sure everything was in its place. The plane began its descent and Aria watched the new scenery as it came into view.

Once off the plane, and having been through customs, she made her way out to the train station. It had taken a good ten minutes to actually understand her directions, as she hadn't been prepared for the strong English accents.

At the train station, the woman selling tickets seemed grouchy. From her appearance, merely telling someone when the next train would be was a massive task. When she'd actually had to _sell_ the ticket, her sighs and motions suggested she'd rather be anywhere else.

Fortunately for Aria, the next train to Oxford was in fifteen minutes. After getting a Diet Coke and new SIM card, she boarded and began transferring over all her information.

A few minutes later the train began to move and she started sending out emails and texts with her new contact details.

Creating a new message, she tapped in several more recipients. Her finger hovered over Ezra's name, which she hadn't deleted in a moment of sentimentality. She skipped over Ezra, deciding he didn't really need her contact information. After all, he had said it was over between them. Besides, he did know her email address. If he really needed to contact her, he could email her.

All her emails done, she powered down her mobile and drifted into a daze as the train approached the city of Oxford.

Trying not to look like a tourist, she stepped off the train and was instantly grateful she'd worn boots instead of sneakers. Sneakers, she'd read somewhere, were an instant giveaway that a person was unfamiliar with the region. They meant a person expected a lot of walking.

She was also grateful that she'd memorized the address and directions for her new apartment, and so she didn't have to rely on scraps of paper. At a nearby taxi rank, she requested a taxi to the general area, which turned out to be fifteen minutes away.

Five minutes later she was meeting with the doorman for the first time and being shown to the elevator.

Before she'd left, Spencer had suggested she order online a few vital pieces of furniture, to be delivered and taken care of by the doorman. Now, she noted the bare mattress lying flat in the middle of the lounge. Too tired to care that it needed sheets or pillows, she dropped her things, and after she'd locked the doors, collapsed and fell asleep.

Twenty hours later she woke, slightly tangled in the coat she'd used as a makeshift blanket.

A look out the window suggested it was sometime in the afternoon, and she dialled Oxford's registration office to let them know she'd arrived in England.

With that out of the way she headed out to take care of the other chores that needed doing.

~~~~~(a week later)~~~~

Aria was now comfortably set up in her apartment, and she'd visited the university several times to fix up her office and meet with her supervisor. The woman was somewhere in her fifties and reminded Aria of her own mom somewhat, making her feel a bit of homesickness.

By now she was comfortable in her apartment, knew her way around enough that she didn't feel she had to study maps before heading out, and had set up her office perfectly.

All she needed now was extra copies of the books she was using, in case anything happened to them. Remembering a cozy little bookstore she had passed a few times, she got on the bus and started scratching out her list.

Satisfied, she folded the page and stuck it in her pocket.

The bookstore was a perfect example of a bookstore: it didn't sell coffee, and it was stuffed with books. As she wandered through, picking out books at random, she realized the number of rooms and figured it must've been a house in a former life. The walls were covered with shelves, floor-to-ceiling, which creaked under the weight of so much great literature. In the centre of the rooms, there were yet more shelves.

It was possibly the best store ever.

Finally, there was one book left that she needed. She recalled seeing it downstairs, and brushed past a dark-blonde guy on her way, vaguely registering out of the corner of her eye that he seemed interested in her.

She didn't register that he was behind her as she ran a hand over the shelf, searching for the book. Finding it, she started to draw it off the shelf when a second hand caught it.

"Thank you, I've been searching everywhere for this." His voice was confident, warm and slightly arrogant, as if he simply expected her to hand over the book.

"So have I, and I need it for my research thesis. Besides, I had hold of it first." She smirked slightly, not paying much attention to him.

"I'm also doing a thesis, and my need is probably just as great as yours."

For the first time, she looked at him. He was taller than her, which was no great surprise. Dark-blond hair, grey eyes and a devious sort of smile.

The complete opposite of Ezra.

They were interrupted by a timid-looking shop assistant, who held an identical copy of the book they were arguing over – Aria hadn't noticed they were both still holding onto it.

He released the book to her and graciously accepted the copy the salesgirl held.

"Well," he said with a smile, "if you're at Oxford, I might see you around, American girl."

She nodded distractedly, perusing the dust jacket to ensure it hadn't been damaged in their debate over it. As he turned away, something clicked in her mind. He seemed nice enough, and she couldn't sit around and dwell on Ezra.

"Hey, um, don't feel obliged, but do you want to get a coffee?" She was slightly startled that she'd managed to stammer out the request, wishing she could take back the words as soon as she'd said them. Maybe he already had a girlfriend.

"I don't like coffee, but I could go for a cup of tea." He raised one eyebrow slightly, as if challenging her to prove some dislike of tea.

She nodded, keenly aware of his eyes on hers, and closed the book to extend her hand. "I'm Aria, by the way."

His handshake was warm and strong.

"I'm Dave."


End file.
